Parisian Phoenix Publishing

An excerpt from today’s Substack newsletter

A few weeks ago my art director and I visited Dave & Buster’s for my birthday. I suggested the arcade when Gayle said we needed to do something fun and as a small business owner, I don’t pursue a lot of that. Nose to the grindstone mentality I guess. I started thinking about what was, well, fun.

That reminded me that circa 2015 I belonged to the American Volkssporting Association, also something Gayle introduced me to. It’s a walking group where local clubs across the country map out 5K and 10K walks in their area, with directions and historical tidbits. The walks are self-paced and self-guided, and if you are a member and pay the administrative fees, you can track your walks in little books that act as passports. According to my books, I’ve done 37 walks and logged about 300 km.

It’s a great way to see a new community and have local perspective.

Books allow us a way to travel and see new perspectives without leaving home, but sometimes some exercise and fresh air can revive the spirit.

On Rhubarb and Adventure

Summer is a good time to embark upon long walks and to visit new places, even those book places, but you know what summery sensations are coming to a close already? Stawberry season and fresh rhubarb!

I never had rhubarb until I married into a Pennsylvania Dutch family. I remember a lot of strawberry rhubarb in those days. My grandfather-in-law had my grandmother-in-law make me a straight rhubarb custard pie— with no fruit to cut the sour flavor— and how he laughed when I tasted it. It wasn’t bad. I just wasn’t expecting the sour.

Today I plan on making some strawberry rhubarb crisp, made with local strawberries and local rhubarb, or some rhubarb bread (think banana bread not sandwich bread). I’ve never made rhubarb bread before, but we’re low on fruit so it might be a good opportunity to expand my horizons.

Have you ever really pondered your favorite food items and your go-to cuisines? How much of your sustenance choices stem from your ethnic heritage or your geographic region? Do you need to toss a little rhubarb into your life to change the flavor? Or maybe a new spice? I ordered some Japanese Sesame Wasabi Furikake seasoning and grabbed some tofu “spaghetti.” (Don’t judge me, I saw your face when I said “tofu.”)

Anyway. The point is that every day a thousand mini-adventures await us. So grab a book (may I suggest one of ours?), take a walk, or maybe take a chance on a food you’ve never tried before. (Or see if you live near a Grocery Outlet. They always have the weird stuff.)